Pogacar’s and Seixas’ own teammates ready to help Vingegaard chase 2027 world title

Jonas Vingegaard could find himself with some unlikely allies in his pursuit of the rainbow jersey in 2027. Mikkel Bjerg and Tobias Lund Andresen have both expressed their willingness to support the Danish star at the World Championships in Haute-Savoie, setting up the intriguing possibility of racing against their regular team leaders, Tadej Pogačar and Paul Seixas.

For Bjerg, who spends much of his season working for Pogačar at UAE Team Emirates XRG, the prospect of helping one of the Slovenian's biggest rivals is something he would welcome.

"I would really love to help Jonas," Bjerg told Eurosport Denmark's Radio Tour podcast. "It would be incredibly exciting if he raced the World Championships next year. The course doesn't particularly suit me, but I would really love to do it. I would love to see him become world champion as well."

The situation would offer an unusual change of roles for Bjerg. After spending countless kilometres protecting Pogačar in the professional peloton, he could be asked to help bring down his own leader while representing Denmark.

"It's quite special to race against your own leader," Bjerg acknowledged, adding that he would also relish the opportunity to demonstrate his abilities against the riders he normally supports.

Lund Andresen faces a similar prospect. The Danish sprinter could find himself on the opposite side of Paul Seixas, but the opportunity to ride alongside Vingegaard appears to outweigh any hesitation.

"I would also like to race if Jonas is there," he said also on Eurosport Denmark's Radio Tour podcast. "Normally, I probably wouldn't ride for the national team if I didn't feel I could make a difference. But if Jonas is there..."

The growing support comes as Danish national coach Michael Mørkøv continues to build towards a race that has been discussed with Vingegaard for several years.

Mørkøv recently revealed that the 2027 World Championships had been identified as a potential target long before the mountainous route in France was officially unveiled.

"We have talked about it, and I mentioned it to him several years ago when we knew it would be held there," Mørkøv told Eurosport Denmark.

The course certainly provides plenty of encouragement. The elite men's road race on August 29 will cover approximately 265 kilometres around Sallanches, with an estimated 5,700 metres of climbing.

At the heart of the race is the Côte de Domancy, a punishing 2.5 kilometre ascent averaging 9.4%, which riders will tackle 20 times. Vingegaard already has fond memories of the climb, having conquered it during his dominant time trial victory at the 2023 Tour de France.

Yet there remains one major question surrounding his chances: whether his exceptional Grand Tour abilities can translate into success in a World Championship road race.

Vingegaard has relatively little experience at the highest level of one day racing. His appearance at the 2025 European Championships ended in disappointment when he abandoned after struggling to recover from his Vuelta a España victory.

This year's World Championships in Montréal could have provided another opportunity to gain experience, but a crash at the Tour de France forced him to withdraw. It was a missed opportunity that Danish national coach Michael Mørkøv particularly regretted.

"I had hoped he would race the World Championships this year to gain the experience of competing at a Worlds ahead of next year," Mørkøv explained.

Vingegaard himself has previously acknowledged that he still has something to prove in major one day races. Following his disappointing European Championships appearance in 2025, he insisted that his lack of preparation had played a major role.

"If I prepare properly, I can be up there in these races too," he said at the time.